Tractor-mounted two-way plow



Dec 4, 1951 w. G. TOLAND TRACTOR-MOUNTED Two-wAY PLow 2 SHEETS- SHEET lFiled May ll, 1946 Dec. 4, 1951 w. G. TOLAND 2,577,384

' TRACTOR-MOUNTED Two-WAY PLow Filed May 1l, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2national Harvester New Jersey "ThisA-Ainvention relates toagriculturalimple- ,ments and particularlymto' plows. More specifically.theinvention relates to a tractor-mounted two-way plow. .Y u .object ofthe inventionis to providev in an agricultural implement novel means forconnect'- ling the implement to a traveling support such as atractor tobe transported thereby. K. Another object' of the invention is toprovide improved means for maintaining the alternately operable units ofa tractor mounted two-wa plow in transport position. y

Another object of the invention is to provide a ytwo--way plow mountedupon a supporting frame, comprising alternately operable plowing units,lifting` mechanism for raising the units to transport. position andlatching mechanism independwent of the lifting means for releasablyholding the vunits in transport position.

Another object of the invention is to provide in' va two-way plowmounted upon a tractor or other Y`support wherein releasable latching.means are provided for holding the units in transport posi- .tion andlifting mechanismv for raising the units,

and vwhereinleach unit is allowed to return by Application May' 11,1946,;

sclaimg. (oler-zal j f the units in transport position including`cooperating latching elements on the plowing unit and on the supportoperable upon raising the units to holdv them in transport position. fOther objects and advantages of the invention will become clear from thefollowing detailed description when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

. l'igure 1 is a view-in side elevation of the rear portion of atractor, showing mounted thereupon a. two-way plow embodying thefeatures of the UNITE/Dif.STATES PATENT.- oFFlcl-:ij if e e" l i2,577,538,421: l I l :V f TRACTOR-MOUNTEDf WO-WAY PLOW Wayne G; Toland,`Cantonflll; assigner Atolnte'r- Compnyg--accrpcratidn of Y sri 669.148

`st axles I3 in depending vaxle housings III carr'ie'd by'av transverserear axle structure I5. Dependingv axle housings I4 serve as theattaching structure fora draw-bar I 6 which is U-shaped afndr vispivotally connected aty laterally spaced p `iintsutov the depending axlehousings I4, as indic'atedat I l, for generally vertical swingingmovement. 'I'he draw-bar I 6 is adjustably held against verticalmovement by an adjusting mechanism indicated at I8 and including anotched quadrant I9 .mounted upon a strap 20 secured to the de- Mpendingaxle housing I4 at the right-hand side pf the tractor by bolts 2I and22. An upwardly extending hand lever- 23 isA pivoted at24 upon the4strap 20, and has securedto its lower end a .forwardly extending arm 25which is pivotally connected by a link 26with a lug 2l mounted upon thedraw-bar I6. Lever 23 is provided with a detent mechanism 23' receivablein the .notches in the quadrant I9 so that by movement of'the lever v23lthe draw-bar I6 may be adjusted up and downand held in its adjustedposition.

, Draw-bar I6 serves for the connection to the tractor Vof the forwardends of a pair of laterally vspaced leftand right-hand plowing units 28and 29'respectively. These units are substantiallyidentical and eachincludes a longitudinally extending tool beam 30 which is curveddownandr 29 has secured to opposite sides thereof y plates 32` which arebentoutwardly at their forward ends and apertured to receive therearwardlyvy extending arms of a U-bolt 33 having a transverse portion34 pivotally received in a bearing35 ailxed at an angle to the draw-barI6 by bolts 3B. The rearwardly extending arms of the bolt 33 extendingthrough the apertures in the 4plates .32 are surrounded by springs 31which abut ,against the bent portion of the plate 32 at one end andagainst a collar 38 at the other end heldA in vplace by a nut 39 on thethreaded ends ofthefU-bolt. Eachof the plow units is thus longitudinallymovable relative to the draw-bar I6. The `U-bolt., 33 is slidable in theapertures in i the'platcs 32 permitting the tool beam 30 to be Theplowing units 28 and 29 are thus cone.

nected to the draw-bar I6 in draft-receiving relation to the tractor. InFigure 2 the'rightLhand"- plow bottom is shown in operating. positionopen- @.15 .vs ition-.aEach of :the latch tongues 60 is held reing afurrow in the soil. Theideptlfl, of opera-.-` tion thereof in the soilis determined by the height of the front end of the tool .beam 30 from.Y the surface of the ground over'whic'h-the tractor f is traveling.Therefore, to vary the depthzof operation of the plow bottom, thedraw-bar I6 is swung.. vertically. about its, pivot at I1 4to raiseorlower the :hitch point .of theQplowrbeam. This is Aaccomplished asvpointed out before by opera: tion ,of thellever .23 (over thelquadrant1.9..'

, The 1eft. andrrightfhandV plowing .11n1cs123 andl are adapted tombe4transported upon the tractor. ,For this purposey a lifting structure.gene erally indicated at 4D is provided whiehincludes a quadrant 4Imounted upon abracket 42 secured to therear, axle housing of thetractor.4 Pivoted upon the bracket 42 and movable over the quadrant .isarhand lever .43 having a detent mecha@ nism 44 "adapted .to engagenotches 45 inthe quadrant. Aixed to the lower end of the lever 43 atits-pivot upon the bracket 42 ,is a trans,-

versely extending crank 46 having a rearwardly bent arm portion 41.adapted for` swinging movement, in a generallyvertical plane duringmovement of thelever 43 over the quadrant 4l` To' therear end of thearm'portion 4'! of the crank.46 is secured an. upwardly. extending trieangulanplate 48 having Aaflixed. asp bywelding to the upwardlyprojecting end thereofa transverse member 49 having a hook .56 at eachend thereof servingfor the attachment of one end of a exible link intheformof a chain 5|,-the otherend of which iis connected to an eye-bolt52 carried Ybythe beam 3D. Thus both of the plowing units 28 and 29 areoperatively connected to the 'lifting mechanism 40 to be lifted by`movementfof the lever 43 over the quadrant 4|.` As

shownin Figure 2, the right-hand plow'unit 23 is in operating positionopening a furrow'in the soil while plow unit28 lis in transportposition. It is cleary of course,that since both of the yplow units areconnected rto the Isamerliftingmechaly nismythey may both beraisedsimultaneously to transportpositionor lowered to operating *p0-sition, or that either unit which is in operating position will be*raised vto transport-by vmeans of thehand` lever v43.- Lifting oftheplow units ina forward direction to raisetheplowunits,

The Vplow units are held in ltheir transport position by 'a latchmechanism generally indicated at 55,'one such latch-mechanism beingprovided forleach of the plowunits 28 anid`2'9. This latch mechanismincludes atransversefshaft 56 having its right-hand end secured as bywelding-to the upperend of a vertically extending strap 51, the lowerend of which is secured by 4 housing I4. The left-hand end of shaft 56is secured to a post 59 aixed to the bracket 42. Pivotally mounted uponeach of the eye-bolts 52 passing through the beams 3l] is a latch tongue60 which is adapted to rest upon the upper surface of the transverseshaft 56 and is provided with a hook-like projection 6l arranged to en-.fgage :the sh-aft =56 when the` plow= unitis raised to transportposition, -asindicated 'l clearly in Figure l3. Since each of the toolbeams 30 is provided with a latch tongue 60 and each is independentlyengageable with the transverse shaft V56, '-thetwofplowing units may beraised simultaneouslyfor'alternately and locked in raised po- ,movementthe upper end of the pin 62; A spring 65 surrounds this' portion ofthepin and -hafs'its upper end bearing" against the laterally- I-befntportion of the plate63 and its lower' end abutting against a cotter'key66 pass'edvthrough' thepin.

The action of thejspring' 65urgesf thepi 62 against thev upper 'surfaceof' the -latcli` v tongue sn and 'presses it against the'shaft' `56.."Whenthe unit has been raised v'to transport position" as indicated withthe 'left-hand unitu in lFigure' 2,

the' hookelike' projection' 6I is maintained in operative engagement`with the'shaft 56 to 'pre'- vent\ the plow "unitfro'mreturning' toworking position. To" release the'A latch andipermfit/the plow unit toreturn to working'position, the operator from his stationl2 Aon thetractormerel'y grasps theforward end of the latch tonguej 66 andlifts'ity 'against' theaction'of lthe spring 65 until thehook 6I clearsthe shaft" 56.2 The-'plow unit then 'dropsby'gravity to Workingposition. e In normal operationA of 'the two-way plowo'f thel presentinventionk through v"relatively soft ground, the plow unit in operatingpositionis raised by`releasing thedetent 44 `associated"with the lever43 and-pushing the'lever forward 'over the'quadrant 4|. In Figure 1 itwill 'be `noted that the'lower portion of the sector or'quadrant 4I isrelatively free of notches, the notches'. 45 bein'g'provide'd in theupper endv of the quadrant. Upon forward movement-'of the`lev`er'-43 toa position such as indicated in dottedl'ines in Figure 1, the workingplow'unitis rasedfuntil its 'associated 'wlatching mechanism becom'esief.- fective to hold the'unit in its transport position. Thereupon the'operator immediately returns' the lever 43 to the position shown insolid linesin Figure 1 whiclicorresponds to the Working posi? tion ofthe implement. Thisv'operation of 'lifting the operating plowVunitoccurs everytime that the tractor is turned to reverse thedir'ction'of travel of the implement', so that'v upon Vturning the tractor bothplowing units are' temporarily in transport position. Uponreversing'thefdirction of travel thel appropriatej plowing unit 'jis then releasedlby the operator grasping `the endjoi the latch tongue k60 to release thehook 6I froinrejn-A gagement with `the l,shaft 56 and permit theplowLing unit to fall by gravity.H The hand lever43 is thenfof course; inposition 'fori' another lifting operation when the other end 4of theeldA bolts 2l andto therightv-hand depending axle .'15 'reached' vandanother vturn must. be mada" h While the foregoing is the procedure whennormally soft ground is being plowed, conditions such as the presence ofrocks and the like may be expected to damage the plow bottom 3l when itis dropped by gravity to operating position. In order to avoid thislikelihood of injury to the plow bottom, when plowing in hard or rockysoil the operator upon reaching the end of the eld to reverse thedirection thereof grasps the lever 43 and pushes it forwardly to theposition indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1. At this point thelatching mechanism 55 of the raised plow unit has effectively engagedthe shaft 56 and the unit will not return to working position untilreleased by the operator. The lever 43 is left in the dotted lineposition until the turn is made, whereupon the operator grasps thelatching tongue 60 of the appropriate plow bottom and releases it. Thedetent mechanism 44 of the lever 43 rides over the smooth surface of thelower portion of quadrant 4l under the drag of the falling plow unit.However, in order to prevent the plow unit falling and possible injuryto the plow bottom 3| thereby, a notch 61 is provided in the lowerportion of the quadrant to engage the detent mechanism 44 and preventthe plow bottom returning to working positionA even though the latch 55has been released. The operator then grasps the lever 43 and eases theplowing unit down to its working position without danger of injury tothe plow bottom.

The operation of the two-way plow of the present invention should beclear from the foregoing description. Modiiications may, of course, bemade therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An agricultural implement comprising a supporting frame, atool-carrying beam connected to the frame for generally verticalmovement and adapted to be lifted to transport position and dropped bygravity to operating position, a lever mounted on the frame, connectingmeans between the lever and the tool beam, said lever being movable fromone position to another to raise the beam, latch means operableindependently of the lever for locking the beam in raised position andreleasable to permit the beam to fall by gravity to operating position,and releasable stop means associated with the lever automaticallyoperable after an initial downward movement of the beam past thelatching position and arranged to maintain said beam in raised positionupon release of the latch.

2. An` agricultural implement comprising a supporting frame, atool-carrying beam connected to the frame for generally verticalmovement and adapted to be lifted to transport position and dropped bygravity to operating position, a lever fulcrumed on the frame,connecting means between the lever and the tool beam for beam between araised and a lowered position, latch means operable independently of thelever for locking the beam in raised position and releasable to permitthe beam to fall by gravity to operating position, and releasable stopmeans automatically operable after an initial downward movement of thebeam past the latching position and arranged to engage the lever in aposition thereof corresponding to a raised position of the beam uponrelease of said latch means to prevent the accidental return of thelever by the gravity pull of the raised plow beam, whereby the danger ofinjury to the tool is avoided.

3. In a two-way plow, a supporting frame, a pair of right and left handplow units connected `to the frame for independent movement with respectthereto between operating and transport positions, a lever fulcrumed onthe frame, a flexible connection between each said unit and said leverwhereby said units may be raised and lowered simultaneously, said leverbeing freely movable by the gravity pull of the plow units between araised and a lowered position, latch means acting between each unit andthe frame and operable independently of the lever for locking the unitsin raised position, each latch being releasable to permit the associatedunit to fall by gravity to operating position, and releasable stop meansarranged to engage the lever in a position thereof corresponding to araised position of the unit upon release of said latch means to preventthe accidental return of the lever by the gravity pull of the raisedunit,

whereby the danger of injury to the tool is avoided.

WAYNE G. TOLAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 435,513 McGuire Sept. 2, 18901,089,213 Hallbauer Mar. 3, 1914 1,262,304 Carpenter Apr. 9, 19181,302,339 Esping Apr. 29, 1919 1,333,207 Johnson Mar. 9, 1920 1,362,277Watson Dec. 14, 1920 1,381,662 Reynolds June 14, 1921 1,630,576 MonsonMay 31, 1927 1,670,270 Monson May 15, 1928 1,717,804 Monson June 18,1929 1,922,222 Strandlund et al. Aug. 15, 1933 2,012,458 Strandlund Aug.27, 1935 2,070,964 Scott Feb. 16, 1937 2,324,840 I-Iipple July 20, 19432,344,271 Scott et al. Mar. 14, 1944 2,354,084 Geraldson July 18, 19442,457,163 Lansing Dec. 28, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date691,630 France July 15, 1930 233,399 Germany Apr. 8, 1911 308,847 GreatBritain Apr. 4, 1929 Sweden Jan. 7, 1911

